Monday, October 1, 2018

Greetings Sheepdogs, I am trying to get a few people together for aDefensive Training InternationalInstructor Program(Taught by John Farnam.) in the Nashville, TN area in 2019 A.D. The course description is about 3/4ths down this web page,http://defense-training.com/training-courses/If you would like to attend in 2019 or know anyone who would,please let me know.

***** Mindset *****

Avoidance, Deterrence, and De-escalation-- John Farnam

[With apologies to Clive Staples Lewis] You don't have a soul. You are your soul. You have a body. You are not your body. Consider Helen Keller or Stephan Hawking. You have tools. Your tools do not define you. They may say something about your taste or what you can afford. But, that really is insignificant.The surgeon is not known by his scalpel. He has no favorite scalpel. He has a skill, any scalpel will do. (I have seen a tracheotomy preformed with a steak knife grabbed off a dinner table.) Similarly, you should concentrate on honing your skill, any pistol will do. A person will become comfortable with anything he practices. Sentimental or personal preferences have no place in combat preparation. You may not have a pistol, any knife will do. What is the best way to hold a knife? The way you are holding it in the fight. Don’t change grips. Don’t throw your knife. Lead with the knife, as a fencer, with your other hand covering your carotid arteries in your neck (Thanks to Sensei Cat Fitzgerald). You may not have a knife, a pen will do.You may not have any weapon, your hands will do. Concentrate the strength of two of your hands against one of the enemy's hands or one of his fingers, and continue to twist; don’t stop when something breaks. Stomp on his foot over the arch (not the toes, as he may be wearing steel toed shoes), the small bones in the foot are easily broken.Gouge his eyes, if the enemy is wearing glasses or goggles, gouge up and under the glasses. A blood choke will incapacitate a person in 8 seconds (often much less than 8 seconds). (An air choke is ineffective because a person can hold his breath for a minute or more.) If you don't know what I'm talking about, ASK! Keep fighting. As long as you maintain a combat mindset, you can win. If you think you are better off submitting, you are statistically wrong. May I invite your attention to “More Guns, Less Crime” by John R. Lott Jr., ISBN: 978-0226493640; and you would be doing the criminal’s next victim a grave disservice. In the May 2011 issue of the American Rifleman on page 83, Criminology Professor Gary Kleck of Florida State University concluded from a study ofNational Crime Victimization Survey data that “Robbery and assault victims who used a gun to resist were less likely to be attacked or to suffer an injury than those who used any other method of self-protection or those who did not resist at all.”

We carry to protect our loved ones and our community.Family resources spent on your training are to protect your family. When my children turned 14 I took them to Front Sight for a 4-day Defensive Handgun class. When they were old enough to carry, I bought them pistols expecting them to protect me (and their loved ones).

“The familiar clause, ‘It's better to be lucky than good’ is the most ridiculous homily ever uttered!In any competitive endeavor, you have to be damned good, before ‘luck’ can be of any use to you at all.”-- International Grand Master Garry Kasparov

"You have to be lucky to win, and the more your practice, the luckier you get." -- Col. Lones Wigger (1937 - 2017),a friend and mentor

Force!http://defense-training.com/2018/force/Excerpt: “Shoot, when you have no choice!Don’t, when you have other choices that are reasonably safe. When you have no choice except to shoot, who cares if it’s ‘legal?’ When you don’t need to shoot, who cares if it would have been ‘legal?’ ”-- FrielingThe foregoing quotation, from a celebrated lawyer, represents his inevitable answer to the naive question:“Can/should I shoot someone if they ....?”

We are alive today because our ancestors lived long enough to procreate. We are of the social and economic status that we are because of the decisionsof our ancestors. Never break the chain.

"Time unwinds.Love's a state of mind."-- Fleetwood Mac (Rhiannon)

Situational Awarenesshttp://privateerpublications.com/situational-awareness/Excerpts: All self-defense instructors I have spoken to agree that a confident, alert demeanor will discourage most opportunistic criminals from choosing you as a target. If they do, you should have some warning and be able to take evasive action.. . . "When you’ve got an instinct or a feeling something’s wrong, don’t simply dismiss it, check it out. It could be something. That’s what I’ve learned: to always trust your instincts on something like that. . . . "-- John Long

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”-- President Theodore Roosevelt (NRA Life Member)[This is also taught at Marine Corps Officer Candidate School.]

Marc MacYoung, September 1, 2014 (Facebook posting) Rule number one about teaching self-defense: Do NOT teach anything that will get your students killed. Rule number two: Do NOT teach anything that will get your students put in prison. Rule number three: No matter how much they want to learn other stuff, focus on rules one and two.

Wilson Combat's Going Tactical with Mike Seeklander (12 episodes)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4idEuv4A5n4&index=2&list=PLFJTW6YkjgiS4wK2WdG2ONgvgIVFSbWuG&t=12s Nice techniques. Pay attention to the details.In some of the episodes, he's using a pistol with a compensator, which blows gasses upward. This is going to throw burning powder into you face when shooting from a close contact position. So, you should never use a pistol with a compensator for self defense. Mr. Seeklander talks about using a short barreled rifle. This weapon requires special licensing. There is another alternative, bullpups. Moving the receiver back to the butt plate gives you a short rifle with a rifle length barrel. Lead with your eyes. Eyes, Muzzle, Trigger. Drive your gun with your feet. Good techniques.

As an intelligence analyst, it is my job to filter information for you. I read a lot of stuff and filter out the rubbish, and present what I believe to be useful information to you in this blog. However, I feel compelled to mention the fact that a firearms instructor is teaching unsighted fire at non-close-contact ranges (20 feet). I believe unsighted fire at ranges where you could use your sights is wrong. You have a duty to fire accurately, because every miss is damaging property and injuring bystanders, maybe killing them. In order to shoot accurately, you must use your sights. You must correctly align your front and rear sights. You must focus on the front sight (hard focus, see the serrations and the scratches on the front sight). Unsighted fire is intentional negligence.

Using pistol matches for training: Move slowly enough to see the edge of your target before it sees you.(If you are racing to win the game and run past a target without seeing it, it shot you and you lose.) And shooting the edge when it comes into view. Don't wait till you have a center of mass shot. Because by then the enemy has a center of mass shot on you. Don't muzzle the no shoot targets. (Pointing a gun at someone without justification is aggravated assault.) Stay back away from corners. (There is a bad guy hiding behind every corner. Always a good assumption.) Stay back away from walls. (Bullets don't ricochet off walls the way light reflects off a mirror.) Don't game the scenario.

The Essential Guide to Banjo Jamminghttps://fingerstylebanjo.com/jamming/ Yes, this relates directly to your self defense training. Every combat situation is you playing a song you don't already know. Do you see the beauty? the elegance?

ADVICE TO THE FIGHT-FOCUSED GUN STUDENThttp://blog.suarezinternational.com/2018/09/advice-to-the-fight-focused-gun-student.htmlExcerpt: The lack of physical fitness in the gun world is shameful and embarrassing and indicative of a culture of self-gratification and a lack of self-discipline. One is unfit because one chooses a lifestyle that gets [one] there. It is not about gun SPORT. Any martial science that is turned into a sport loses a great deal of [its] martial value. See Olympic fencing. When you come to class, please come prepared.. . . do not show up to an advanced level class when you have not been to a basic level class.

MINDSET AND LIFEhttp://looserounds.com/2018/08/20/mindset-and-life/Excerpt:"Manage the Clock. Most criminals stay up late and sleep late, too. If you have unavoidable business in their precincts, do it at seven o’clock in the morning when they’re down for the count, not at midnight when they’re just warming up."

Never fire warning shots!http://lawofselfdefense.com/law_case/williams-v-state-2018-ga-lexis-584-ga-supreme-court-2018/ As Andrew Branca explains in this case, the firing of a single warning shot resulted in a felony murder conviction and life sentence. Which was upheld by the Georgia Supreme Court upon appeal. The defendant didn't shoot at anyone. He didn't hurt anyone. He fired a warning shot, which was deemed aggravated assault (a felony) by the jury (the finders of the facts). And because someone died during the felony, he was convicted of felony murder. Acts of criminal stupidity are very expensive. Never fire warning shots!

Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.-- T.S. Elliot

***** Techniques *****

Don't go to stupid places. Don't do stupid things.Don't hang out with stupid people.-- John Farnam

How gauchehttps://www.corneredcat.com/how-gauche/ Bad habits result in injury and death. The subject formed the bad habit because he didn't know any better, because he did not invest in competent expert training.He didn't know what he didn't know.

Carry your concealed pistol in a high quality inside the waistband holster (no retention devices) on a high quality belt (stiff) on your firing side at the point of your hip. Anything else is wrong, for many reasons. For details, ask me for a copy of my book "Defensive Pistol" and read the section on holsters. You can contact me at Jon_Low@yahoo.com

Why it’s time to ditch small of back carryhttps://www.guns.com/2018/08/30/its-time-to-ditch-small-of-back-carry-and-this-is-why/ Going to the ground in a fight is common. If you fall on your back (voluntarily or involuntarily) you risk spinal injury. Even if you go to your back correctly as taught in martial arts classes, such as Aikido. In a seated position, unless you are on a stool without a back rest, any kind of back rest encumbers your presentation from your holster.

These Mistakes Make Your Pistol Red Dot Sight Deadweighthttps://guerrillaapproach.com/pistol-rds/ Head up! Not tilted. Your inner ear is in your head. If you tilt your head, you destroy your inner ear balance. (Not tilted forward. Not tilted to the side. Not tilted at all!) Shoulders down and relaxed. Tense muscles are slow muscles. Relaxed muscles are quick. Lean forward from the hips, not the waist. Arch your back. Throw your chest out. Don't slouch! If you practice this in the mirror, you will immediately see your mistakes and automatically correct them. Mirrors don't lie. Without mirror practice, you will tell yourself all kinds of ridiculous lies and believe them. It's true. I've been coaching for decades. I've seen it in children and adults. You're probably not practicing at an Olympic Training Center, so you don't have videos of yourself to analyze. But, mirrors work. That's why dance studios have mirrors on the walls.Even if someone is recording you on their phone, it's not immediate feedback. The mirror is immediate feedback.

Pistol Trigger Control Tips (but it works for rifle too)https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2018/9/4/pistol-trigger-control-tips/Excerpt: “It takes a lot of self discipline to watch your sightsdrifting ever so slightly. Your natural inclination is totry and wait until your sight picture is perfect and thensqueeze off your shot, but that never works,” said Hemphill. This is truth. It never works. So, if you are doingthis, you are wrong (and always will be, you can't makesuch a technique work). Smoothly continuously increasepressure on your trigger to achieve a surprise trigger break. [If you don't believe the surprise break will work for you,you need to fix your attitude. If you think you canintentionally fire the shot when you want to, and getaccurate shots, you are wrong. You are human. Therefore, you have an autonomic nervous system. Yourautonomic nervous system responses to your intentionalshot will defeat you every time. That's how God designedyour autonomic nervous system. For good natural purpose. Shooting is not a natural thing, as throwing a rock is. So,you have to defeat your autonomic nervous system toget good shots. That's just truth. It's not good or bad. That's just the way the human brain works.]

Pistol Whip: When You Should Use a Handgun as an Impact Weaponhttps://www.ballisticmag.com/2018/08/29/pistol-whip-technique-impact-weapon/ This article advocates pistol punching under certain circumstances. You must keep your trigger finger in the register position. A finger in the trigger guard will eventually get broken when the pistol rotates. In close quarter combat training, we cut the trigger guards off of the plastic dummy pistols to avoid breaking fingers. (Now, the pistols won't holster properly, but it's a trade off.)

Friendly fire is never friendlyhttps://www.strategosintl.com/blog/2018/9/13/friendly-fire-is-never-friendlyExcerpts: Our best advice is to draw your weapon only until the threat is mitigated, then immediately holster it. . . . Law enforcement wants to see your empty hands raised in the air.. . . If your weapon is drawn while you scream “I am a good guy!” then confusion, chaos and tragedy are likely outcomes.

John Farnam apparently does not like the chamber check taught at Front Sight (and by others). "Up until now, Glock’s legal department recommended against forward slide serrations, and anything else that would temp fingers and hands to get near the muzzle. Apparently, they were overruled this time, in an attempt to attract non-serious shooters and others who own guns for non-serious purposes. I think the legal department was, and is, right! During reloading and stoppage-reduction, hands should not go forward of the ejection port, nor is there any legitimate reason for hands to be there. Who grab slides forward of the ejection port invariably drape fingers over the muzzle! Not smart, and not necessary!"Source:http://defense-training.com/2018/g45/

“Arms are permissible, when there is no hope except in arms.”-- Niccolo Machiavelli

What’s a Holster For?https://www.corneredcat.com/whats-a-holster-for/Excerpt: ". . . Carrying the gun on your belt is not equivalent experience to actually using the holster for its intended function."-- attribution not given in the article

When I was military police (I always make the distinction so the LEO's won't point out that I was never a "sworn officer".), anytime anyone was injured, we would always find and question the spouse (boyfriend, significant other, etc.), even if the victim swore it wasn't him (especially if the victim were dead). Because, it was almost always him. Let me share a letter with you --

Dear Mothers, Sisters and Daughters, May I invite your attention to the article,"Human Predators: Four Features and Four Phases of Assault"http://www.kristinprentissott.com/human-predators-four-features-and-four-phases-of-assault/ If you pay attention, you can avoid the attack. Never submit to attack. Statistically speaking, you have a much better chance to avoid getting hurt if you fight back with an explosive counter attack. To submit does the criminal's next victim a grave disservice. You must immediately tell the police. You must sign the complaint. You must testify. You may be wondering why claims of sexual assault areviewed skeptically by law enforcement. Let me explain. Every time we answer a domestic and find the guy beatingthe gal, we arrest the guy. We ask the gal to sign thecomplaint. Sometimes she refuses to. If she does sign it,at trial she says that he did not attack her, and sometimesthat the cops caused the fight. Every time we answer a domestic and find the guy notbeating the gal, the gal will claim that the guy was beatingher and she will use magic words such as "he was choking me".Which under Tennessee law forces us to arrest the guy. The magistrate always warns the gal that if she is lying,she will be prosecuted for filing a false report. At trial,she will not show up, or if she does show up, she will saythat he had not attacked her. Statistically speaking, half of all rape complaints arefalse. This is true in the Armed Forces and civilian worlds.(We don't mean insufficient evidence to prosecute. We mean the complaint is false.) Greg Ellifritz tells of a domestic he responded to. The guy had shot the gal in the head. The bullet enteredher forehead, split the two lobes of her brain, and exitedthe back of her skull. She did not die. She did not loseconsciousness. Greg interviewed her immediately afterthe shooting. She refused to press charges, because sheloved him and she knew he loved her. Yes, there really are such people. (You've probablynever met such persons, because your parents protectedyou from such social circles.) If you practice suchstupidity, your children will learn it from you. If he hits you, you must immediately leave and breakoff the relationship. Because if you don't, he now knowsthat hitting you is an acceptable part of your relationship. Domestic abuse always escalates until the victim is deador the victim decides to leave. Sincerely,(a conglomeration of magistrates, law enforcement officers, and firearms instructors)

"Veni, vidi, Deus vicit".(I came, I saw, God conquered.)-- King Jan Sobieski of Poland, September 11th, 1683 A.D. The Polish Warrior King Jan Sobieski defeated the Moors at the gates of Vienna. Compare to Julius Ceasar (correctly pronounced in Latin it's euphonic), "Veni. Vidi. Vici." (I came. I saw. I conquered.)[For those who have not studied Latin, the "V" is pronounced as an English speaker would pronounce a "W".]

Concerning self defense insurance -- If the policy only reimburses you if you are acquitted, the insurance company has a huge financial incentive to ensure you are convicted. One would politely call that a conflict of interest. That's the problem with the NRA Carry Guard policy and others of that ilk. You want a policy that pays your attorney up front, because legitimate attorneys insist on payment up front, because they know you will lose all incentive to pay them once you have been acquitted (or convicted). You also want a policy that will pay to bail you out of jail. Spending time in jail exposes you to rape, sodomy, battery resulting in permanent debilitating injury, infection with nasty diseases, etc. Spending time in jail disqualifies you from donating blood, for good reason. Just as male homosexual intercourse disqualifies you from donating blood. In matters of life and death, there is no room for political correctness. You also want a policy that will get you competent expert witnesses to testify for you. One of the fringe benefits of taking a class from Massad Ayoob (and others), is that he will testify for you in the event you are prosecuted. I consider it my duty as an instructor to testify for my students. I would consider Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network, Inc.https://armedcitizensnetwork.org/as I am familiar with several of the board members.

Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Programhttps://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2017/crime-in-the-u.s.-2017 Tom Givens comment on the report -- You do realize these numbers are total bull, right? This is a voluntary reporting system. Of 14,000 police agencies in the US, about a third don't report info to the UCR. In my metro area, for instance, the metro population is 3,083,660. The UCR only lists the crimes from 4 cities in that metro area, with a total population of 847,095. That means the crimes affecting the other 2,236,565 residents were not counted. My town, for instance, is in that metro area. We had 5 homicides and almost 200 Aggravated Assaults, but they are not included in the UCR. This means the violent crime totals for the US in the UCR are grossly under-reported.

HANDGUN WOUNDING FACTORS AND EFFECTIVENESS http://www.activeresponsetraining.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/fbi-hwfe.pdfExcerpt: Choosing a bullet because of relatively shallow penetration will seriously compromise weapon effectiveness, and needlessly endanger the lives of the law enforcement officers using it. No law enforcement officer has lost his life because a bullet over penetrated his adversary, and virtually none have ever been sued for hitting an innocent bystander through an adversary. On the other hand, tragically large numbers of officers have been killed because their bullets did not penetrate deeply enough. . . . Those who disparage science and laboratory methods are either too short sighted or too bound by preconceived (or perhaps proprietary) notions to see the truth. The labs and scientists do not offer sure things. They offer a means of indexing the damage done by a bullet, understanding of the mechanics of damage caused by bullets and the actual effects on the body, and the basis for making an informed choice based on objective criteria and significant statistics. . . . Kinetic energy does not wound. Temporary cavity does not wound. The much discussed "shock" of bullet impact is a fable and "knock down" power is a myth. The critical element is penetration. The bullet must pass through the large, blood bearing organs and be of sufficient diameter to promote rapid bleeding. Penetration less than 12 inches is too little, and, in the words of two of the participants in the 1987 Wound Ballistics Workshop, "too little penetration will get you killed." Given desirable and reliable penetration, the only way to increase bullet effectiveness is to increase the severity of the wound by increasing the size of hole made by the bullet. Any bullet which will not penetrate through vital organs from less than optimal angles is not acceptable. Of those that will penetrate, the edge is always with the bigger bullet.

Civil War happens when the victimized are armed.Genocide happens when they are not!-- A.E. Samaan

My paraphrase of Andrew Branca's report on State v. Scott 2018 South Carolina -- South Carolina man standing on the porch of his house (curtilege) [I used to teach the South Carolina Concealed Weapons Permit course.] shot at a group of people in multiple cars who were shooting at his house in an attempt to kill his daughter who had retreated into his house. His bullet kills one of the people in the cars. State attorney charges him with murder. He claims self defense. The trial judge grants him immunity from prosecution based on self defense. State attorney appeals. Appellate court affirms the trial court decision granting immunity. State attorney appeals. Supreme court affirms appellate court decision to affirm trial court decision granting immunity. Huge legal fees? Not in this case. Defendant had a public defender all the way to the Supreme court. Yeah, South Carolina!http://lawofselfdefense.com/law_case/state-v-scott-2018-s-c-lexis-105-sc-supreme-court-2018/ You think this would happen in Florida? Massad Ayoob is still waiting for reimbursement from Florida for a case he testified in as an expert witness. Florida is supposed to reimburse the defense costs if the defendant is acquitted.

Crime Wave United Kingdom: Govt Moves to Stop Knife Sales as Blade Crime Hits 7-Year Highhttps://www.breitbart.com/london/2018/09/15/govt-restrict-knife-sales-blade-crime/ Contrast with the state of Tennessee in the U.S.A. where there is no such thing as an illegal knife. Yes, you can walk into Wal Mart and buy a fully automatic knife (switch blade).You can also mail order such. No age limit. No ID required. In the UK, they don't understand freedom. No knife sales to individuals. No whittling. No carving. No shaving. Going to have to wax.

Few tyrants argue for 'slavery of the masses.'Instead, they argue for the power to 'protect people from themselves.'-- AE Samaan

***** Survival Tips *****

"If you prepare for the emergency, the emergency ceases to exist!"-- Dr. Sherman House

69 Timeless Travel Tips and Tricks | After 4+ Years On the Roadhttps://www.nomadichustle.com/timeless-travel-tips/ Tip number 4 really works. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, some bad guys approached a local to gather intel on me. The local was a guy who worked with me at the Royal Saudi Air Force Base in Riyadh. He told the enemy terrorists to leave me alone. So, they did. (At least until the attacks on May 11th 2003.) [Ya, there's a lot more to the story.] I had talked to him. I had found out that his son was studying computer science. So, I gave him a copy of "The C++ Programming Language" by Bjarne Stroustrup for his son. Make friends. You never know when it will save your life.

This morning I was sitting in McDonalds eating breakfast, when I heard a little girl asking her mother for a Happy Meal. She could pronounce it correctly. She knew exactly what it was. I've worked for McDonalds (flipping burgers and mopping the floors in high school). I've done statistical research for McDonalds. All I could think was that all that money spent on research, marketing, advertising, etc. worked. McDonalds got that little girl to eagerly ask her mother for a Happy Meal. It wasn't an accident. It wasn't incidental. It was planned, executed, and achieved. If you live in our society, and have a craving for something, it is almost certain that that craving is the fruition of a well financed marketing plan. Yes, it works in the firearms industry. Yes, it works in the self defense training industry.

For the latest version (it changes almost daily) of my lesson plans for my NRA Defensive Pistol course, send me an email. Jon_Low@yahoo.com